Morocco may give thought to selling stakes in Maroc Telecom

Morocco might be selling stakes in the country’s main telecommunication firm Maroc Telecom, says Reuters quoting Economy and Finance Minister Mohamed Benchaaboun.

The Kingdom expects to generate 5 billion dirhams from selling public enterprises, added the minister on Tuesday.

On Monday, Benchaaboun said while presenting the 2019 draft budget in the parliament that Morocco is planning to raise 8 billion dirhams by improving governance of public companies and encouraging privatization.

The minister believes that this would help «curb the budget deficit to 3.3 percent of GDP in 2019». According to Benchaaboun, Morocco’s budget deficit would be limited to 3.7 without privatization.

For the record, Maroc Telecom is a public company listed on both the Casablanca Stock Exchange and Euronext Paris.